WINNIPEG, MB - August 27, 2012 - Committed to ensuring efficient and effective use of taxpayers’ funds through its investments in public safety, the City of Winnipeg is launching an operational review of the Winnipeg Police Service.
A goal of the review will be to examine the City’s largest and fastest-growing operating budget, and find innovative ways to stretch limited tax dollars while making the most efficient use of police resources.
A Request for Proposals (RFP) is being issued today to invite proposals to conduct this review. To be successful, a bidder should have experience in up to three projects of similar size and complexity; specifically, projects involving reviews of police agencies for municipal, provincial, state, federal governments, particularly Canadian municipalities.
“This is an opportunity for us to assess the Winnipeg Police Service on a department-wide basis,” said Councillor Paula Havixbeck, Chair of the Standing Policy Committee on Protection and Community Services. “Any improvements we can make to our systems and procedures will help make our city a safer place for all citizens by making optimal use of police resources.”
The City’s Adopted 2012 Operating Budget provided increases for all major services including strategic investments in public safety, infrastructure renewal, and community centres.
The operational review will look at all aspects of the Service’s operations with a focus on identifying efficiencies as well as opportunities for savings. The review is intended to examine existing operations, organizational structure, systems, technology, administration, and staffing.
The Councillor also noted that the City’s Adopted 2012 Operating Budget provided increases for all major services including strategic investments in public safety, infrastructure renewal, and community centres.
The analysis during the operational review will focus on efficiency. The review will include interviews with key external and internal stakeholders, field visits, assessment of the organizational structure and span of control. It will include evaluation of a wide variety of areas, for example: staffing; overtime; call management system and processes; fleet management and other potential shared services opportunities; and the quality, relevance and overall value of crime statistics published by police.
A potential second stage of the review will involve negotiation with the contractor to retain their assistance in implementing recommendations.
The intended timeline for the operational review is:
- Award of contract (early October)
- Delivery of preliminary report on findings (late November)
- Delivery of final report to Steering Committee for review and forwarding of recommendations to Executive Policy Committee (to be proposed by successful vendor, and negotiated with City)
The Winnipeg Police Service has been accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies since 1992, and was re-accredited in 2011. This means that the Department has been examined by a North American organization of external peers and determined to be meeting a rigorous set of about 460 standards on management and organization, policy, training, operations and administration. A Certificate of Achievement is displayed in the Service's headquarters and features a blue "Meritorious" ribbon and inscription proclaiming 15 or more continuous years of accredited status.
The 2012 Adopted Operating Budget for the Winnipeg Police Service is $220.2 million. The 2012 Adopted Capital Budget for police is $8.7 million. In 2011, the Service had a complement of 1,443 police officers and 423 civilian members providing service in crime prevention, police response, and traffic safety and enforcement.
The most recent, external review of the Winnipeg Police Service was conducted in 2000 as part of work that began in 1999 under a committee of WPS leadership reviewing operations.